Shielded
by MagicMysticFantasy
Summary: We guard them with everything we are capable of giving. It's hard,tiring,and dangerous. This we know as a fact. Not all will survive shielding the others. We know this. We choose it anyway. It's part of what makes us who we are. It's what makes us Shields, and we've been here since hunters first began their trade. They're why we exist at all, and we owe them everything.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer:I don't own Supernatural or other familiar things mentioned. I do own my idea and my OCs._

Prologue

Life is full of dangers and risks. Some are avoidable, while others are inevitable. Those who care for us- family, friends, teachers, lovers- they try to keep us from these risks as best they can. What they sometimes can never understand though, is that there is always going to be risk. That sometimes, we _need_ the risks of daily life to truly live.

Inevitable risks are everywhere, and exist at any and every moment. Crossing the street has the risk of some idiot driving drunk, or maybe running a red light. Perhaps both. Going to school, we take the chance that some desperate and hurting kid might find his or her answer in a gun. Even eating has its potential danger as we risk falling ill to food poisoning or choking.

The ones who care for us- those family, friends, teachers, and lovers- will try to protect us in every way they can. Sometimes they can't though, and that scares them. Some of us take that protection with us as we grow and move forward, and extend the circle as more people begin to share our lives.

Others take that protection they have witnessed and give it to someone else. They are the people who are called heroes. We are not heroes. I am not a hero. Not really. Our reasons are as selfish as they are selfless, though perhaps an outsider will only see the latter.

Occasionally, when we choose to give that protection away, we worry. What if they get hurt? What if _we_ do? What if we fail? If we do, how do we continue on after that? _Can_ we continue on? For a moment we see the world as our family, friends, teachers, and lovers do. But, eventually, we get our fears under control and end up asking the only question that will truly matter in the long run.

"Will it be worth it?" Our protectors- only teachers and mentors this time, we won't make our family, friends, and lovers watch as we step out of their carefully constructed ring of safety- hesitate, reluctant to voice their opinion and potentially alter ours. We gaze at them, willing an answer from them, despite their obvious hesitation. They respond.

"Yes, I believe it will be." With that, our decisions are made. We promise to guard the others- as well as the outsiders when we can- with everything we are capable of giving. It will be hard, and tiring, and dangerous. This we know for a fact. It is part of why this was a difficult decision. Not all of us will survive shielding the others with ourselves. We know this. It is part of what makes us who we are. It is what makes us Shields.


	2. Chapter 1

_Note: Chapter 1 wasn't flowing the way I wanted, so it has been rewritten! If you read the last version, there have been significant changes, so please re-read. Thanks!_

Ch 1

"Sam." Dean said urgently, directing his brother's attention to the woman in the white dress standing on the edge of the bridge. She turned and gave them both a heartbroken look before allowing herself to fall forward into the river. Both Winchesters sprang into a run to look out over the edge.

"Where'd she go?" Dean said sharply in concern. Sam shook his head as they cast their gazes over the water. He let his breath hiss through his teeth in a sigh of frustration.

"I don't know." he admitted. The roaring of the Impala's engine as the headlights came on made both brothers immediately look up and to the right. Dean's face hardened as he realized someone was driving his car.

"What the-" he began in confusion, sticking a hand on his jacket pocket to feel the shape of the keys that still resided there. He and Sam moved to the center of the bridge as they looked at the car in confusion.

"Who's driving your car?" Sam asked, managing to sound both confused and irritated on his brother's behalf. In response, Dean snagged his key ring from his pocket, and his keys came into view with a slight jangle. At that, Sam's brow furrowed even further.

Before he could say anything else, the tires let out a squeal, and the car began to move. The two of them stared at it for a moment in surprise before beginning to run in a panic. Sam grabbed at his brother's jacket, pulling him along as he began running, shouting for Dean to do the same.

As the boys picked up speed, so did the car. Within seconds, both of them were full on sprinting for their lives. After exchanging a hurried glance, both Dean and Sam reacted simultaneously. They turned right, towards the edge of the bridge, and threw themselves over.

The moment they did, the car stopped and turned off again. Sam let out a slight grunt as he swung his other hand up to hold the rail that he had just managed to grab in time to avoid falling in the river. Dean hadn't been so lucky.

When he had thrown himself over the edge, he had missed grabbing a bar by a fraction of an inch. It took him a split second to realize he was falling, and then his heart flew up into his throat. That is until his arm was nearly yanked out of its socket when a pair of hands grabbed it, stopping his fall. He'd owe Sammy for this one, Dean knew. Even from way up here, the river stank.

"Dean!" he heard Sam call out in a panic from several feet to his left. Which meant whoever had caught him wasn't his brother after all. His heartbeat picked up at that revelation, but he made his voice remain calm when he answered.

"Over here, Sammy." Looking up, he saw a hunched over figure who had their legs secured in the railings. Despite his wariness, Dean felt a tendril of respect at their strength. The person was smaller than him by about half a foot if he had to guess, and based on what he could see of their build, at least fifty pounds lighter, if not more.

Despite that, the person slowly started pulling him back up. The going went much faster as Sam joined them, and soon he was helping Dean back over the edge. After scanning his brother for injuries, Sam turned his gaze on Dean's apparent 'savior'.

The figure was sprawled out on the ground, head between their knees, breathing heavily. A breathless laugh came from them, causing both brothers to bristle slightly in suspicion. The panting was easing up quickly, and soon the person-a young woman, they realized- was scrambling to her feet.

"Man, you have got to lay off the burgers, Dean. Next time I might not be able to catch you." For the first time, both siblings got a look at the woman. She appeared to be in her mid twenties with dark hair and pale eyes. They were able to see her features fairly well due to the full moon shining overhead.

Both brothers looked at her incredulously, but for different reasons. Sam looked slightly suspicious, but Dean looked like he'd been hit by a car. She looked them over briefly, as though checking for injuries- though why would she do that? - and cast a cautious gaze over their surroundings.

"Come on." she said, suddenly all business. "We should get off this bridge before she comes back and does something worse than possess your car." She made no move to leave, however, and seemed to be waiting for them to get in their car first.

"Hang on, you don't really expect us to trust you just because you stopped Dean from falling into a river that smells like a toilet, do you? We don't even know who you are." Sam said suspiciously, his eyes narrowed at the newcomer. At that, the girl gave a small smile, and a short laugh.

"Ah, c'mon Sammy. You really don't remember me? It's only been…" she paused and counted on her fingers. She looked surprised, and recounted. "Nine years? Seriously? Man, now I feel old. I see why you don't remember me, you were thirteen at the time, and it's been longer than I thought." Sam looked over at his brother, and was surprised to see the shocked look on his brother's face.

"Noelle?" Dean breathed before coughing slightly, his voice returning to normal. "Noelle Miller? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be long gone and not coming back anytime soon. Especially near any Winchesters." Sam's gaze flicked towards Noelle briefly in curiosity then turned to look at his brother again.

"Wait, you actually know this woman?" he asked. Dean shifted uncomfortably, and dragged his gaze along the edge of the bridge before raising it again to study Noelle. She was scanning their surroundings warily, not relaxing for a single moment.

"Yeah. We ran into Noelle and her family a long time ago on a hunt with Dad. They helped us gather some info on our monster of the week. Afterwards, Noelle's family told Dad that she wouldn't be allowed to be anywhere near a Winchester for years. Not that I blame them. I mean, we did get her, and her brothers, arrested."

"We _what_?" Sam asked, before shaking his head and scoffing. "Dean, _please_ tell me she wasn't one of your past flings? If so, this conversation just got really awkward." Dean and Noelle looked shocked, and drew back from him slightly. Noelle's hands even went up as if to ward off an attack.

"Woah there. Dean and I did _not_ have a _fling_. We were just friends! My family was in the area as Dean said. The five of us hung out for a while at the local diner, and at the airport runway while our parents took out the monster." Sam's brow furrowed in concentration as he studied her. A fuzzy memory of a laughing, sarcastic, slightly shorter teenager with a shorter ponytail came to mind.

"Wait, I think I remember you now." He studied her some more. "You were several inches shorter, right? And you had one older brother and one younger one. Their names were… Nick and Ryan, right?" Noelle's grin that had shown up at Sam's remembrance wavered and dimmed slightly. She suddenly cleared her throat and nodded.

"Yeah. As much as I love catching up with you two, do you mind if we finish this conversation somewhere not part of the creepy bridge? I'd rather not remain in the place where an angry… something likes to kill its victims." The brothers nodded in unison.

"Good idea. We can take off as soon as I check on my car to make sure whatever that was didn't screw with her engine." Dean said, already moving over to his car. He opened the hood and began examining the contents intently. He could practically feel Sam rolling his eyes, but his brother remained silent. Noelle's grin returned as she watched him work.

"I take it John finally handed it over. I always did remember loving this car; she's a beauty. Can't beat the classics. She's part of the reason I chose my particular bike model. It's parked at the end of the bridge over there." Both Winchesters glanced over to see a dark motorcycle parked at the edge of the bridge. Dean glanced back over at Noelle, who was looking around and leaning on the edge of the bridge.

"You know, you don't have to wait around for us. We can meet you at a motel in town to talk there." Noelle shook her head in response, and sank down to sit against the bridge railings. The corner of her mouth quirked up, and Sam realized why he'd remembered her nine years later. She tended to smile a lot more than the typical hunter who'd been living in the life for years.

"No can do. This thing comes after men, right? Well, in case you hadn't realized, you both are men. I'm a woman, so I should be somewhat of a deterrent. 'Sides, safety in numbers never hurts. Not," She said, halting the words she could tell where on the tips of their tongues. "that you two can't handle yourselves in a fight. You're Winchesters, monsters should run screaming from you." Both Sam and Dean had to hide their grins that came from her last joking statement.

"Car all right?" Sam asked, looking at his brother. Dean slammed the hood of the car down and straightened. He now had smears of grease on his hands and arms, and he carried with him the scent of motor oil.

"Yeah. Whatever she did to it, it seems all right now. That Constance chick- what a bitch!" he said, shouting out the last three words to the surrounding area on the off chance she was somewhere nearby. Sam turned and looked over to where they'd last seen her.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." He removed his gaze from Dean as he heard Noelle give a quiet sigh of relief. She began to walk to the edge of the bridge where her bike waited, gleaming in the moonlight.

"Great, now we can get out of here before she comes back, and get to that motel. By the way," she said, sitting on her motorcycle and grabbing her helmet. "there's only one motel in town. It's on Sixth Street, can't miss it. If you feel like following, I can lead you there." At their nods of agreement, she put her helmet on and flipped down the visor, obscuring her face from view.

She waited until their car was started before revving her engine and leading the way back to town. The Impala followed as Noelle drove back to the road, and both vehicles went around the bend as the sky began to turn gray on the horizon.


End file.
